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GRID IRON..my take may be different than most, but I thought Tennessee really missed Albert Haynesworth last night. The magnificent rush engendered by his heaving bulk consistently requires the attention of two opponents. Without his presence the Titan four-man rush was too often toothless, a fact demonstrated by their strangely passive play on the Steelers touchdown drive at the end of the first half. Post Haynesworth, this team desperately needs to develop a series of complicated blitz packages…it was a terrific match to start the season. An electric sense of anticipation pervaded as the teams lined up for the opening kick-off. In my mind the greatest athletes in the world are visible in the NFL. The fastest, the strongest, the best runners, the best catchers, the dynamic, the dogged, the determined, the brilliant, the inspired, all flourish within the confines of American football. I have everything I need with what I have dubbed “American chess”,  including the arts of strategy and deception. After the steroid scandals reduced the Olympics to little more than a freak show, I redirected my energies to watching American football with unbridled passion. A pageant of sublime talent and thudding violence, a viewer needs nothing but the NFL to revel in all the joys and passions incumbent in elite performance…the early work of Troy Polamalu was simply transcendent, with his tackle of a streaking Chris Brown deep in Tennessee territory a play of magnificent execution…the Prevent Defence is a curse and blight on the league. Its ineffective use last night handed the game to the Steelers. I see the character flaws in Jeff Fisher that are also apparent in Andy Reid in Philadelphia; bottom line, they simply do not possess the ruthlessness that ultimately wins a Superbowl. Fisher should have closed the show on the Steelers last night, particularly after the injury to all world safety Polamalu…the Washington - New York Giants game on Sunday should be a collision of epic defences. Haynesworth has the ability to transform a Redskin unit already on the verge of ranking as the leagues best. If he meshes with his new mates I expect the Redskin defence to be as formidable as that of the Ravens as the season unfolds…PONIES..I’ve rarely seen a horse sitting on as big an effort as is It’s A Bird, exiting Rachel Alexandra’s legendary Woodward. The horse will be set for the run of his life next out, I’ll keep you informed…Bigliardi’s Steak House is closing at the end of this month. The legendary restaurant played host to luminaries such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Wayne Gretzky. And, oh yeah, also the Beat Poet, his beautiful bride and the Racing Meridian. Now what brought us to the fine establishment was not a juicy steak but rather an opportunity to wager on the 2003 Belmont Stakes. That year Funny Cide was attempting to win the Triple Crown, but the motley crew assembled with this writer had eyes for only one runner, Bobbie Frankel’s Empire Maker. While people sat around in Funny Cide hats and tilted eyes to the heavens, imploring the God’s for the opportunity to watch a legendary performance, the Beat Poet and I sidled up to the betting windows and sank all our cash on win and exactor tickets keying Empire Maker in the top spot. No back-up. No “cover”. No hedging. Right at post time the Beat Poet, burrowing through a stack of tickets, observed we had nary a single dollar on Funny Cide, then at even money. If he finished in the win or place position, we were sunk. I loved it. We were gamblers and heart breakers, cheering uproariously as Jerry Bailey and Empire Maker powered to a commanding win. Ten Most Wanted took second, setting up an easy 21-1 exactor, while Funny Cide staggered home third. I’ll always remember the forlorn faces of the Funny Cide set, puppy dog eyes and trembling lips, looking on as the Beat Poet and I rollicked around the room, anxious only to retrieve our plunder…PUG LIFE..the Mayweather - Marquez fight is going up against UFC 103 and, from what I’m hearing, the great sport of pugilism is taking it on the chin. The Rail tried to order the fight only to be told that the UFC was the only game in town Sept 19^th. The Meridian may be reduced to roaming the hinterland trying to find an establishment old school enough to shun the sweaty man-humpers of ultimate fighting for a night of the sweet science…